HP’s tx2000z is something that we don’t actually see a whole lot of: a tablet designed for home users. Despite having been around for a few years now, tablet PCs have grown a more secure foothold in the business segment than the home one. We still see tablets aimed at students and creative home users, but the primary focus in the tablet world has been in very light models designed for business users, like the ThinkPad tablet or the HP 2710p. Unlike these two, the tx2000z is clearly part of HP’s consumer line, which means increased size/weight, different materials, and different design goals, but also a very reasonable starting price.

Looking at the tx2000 we can see that it is reminiscent of HP’s other consumer models, like the dv2700t. It based on a 12.1-inch display and the overall size is 8.82 (L) x 12.05 (W) x 1.23 (min H)/1.52″ (max H) and about 4.3 lbs. It’s no ultraportable, but the tx2000z is squarely aimed at mobility and versatility, something that can’t be said about many tablets that cost much more. The notebook is composed largely of plastics and both the areas surrounding the keyboard and the LCD cover are both smooth plastic with a design below them (this process is called IMR). The glossy plastic is not scratch-proof but should have no issues with general wear-and-tear. The LCD is glossy as well so it looks nice, but reflection can be an issue. Below the glossy coating is screen that is improved from the older tx1000–it has a dual digitizer, so it can act as a touchscreen and can work with the included stylus.

The componentry of the tx2000 is quite interesting. The actual model being tested is the tx2051, which is part of the larger tx2000z series. Don’t worry–the naming scheme makes little sense–but what is clear is that this notebook can really scale up from it’s humble beginnings. That $899 starting price was a long way off from our system’s specs:

The built should yield a computer that is quite capable, despite the unlikely choice of that AMD processor. That was almost certainly done to keep the entry price down, but now that the tx2051 is well over the $1000 mark it would have been nice to see it use an Intel Core 2 Duo processor. That noted, it is nice to explore the AMD route, and AMD fanboys will certainly appreciate the seeing a Turion on a 12-inch notebook, and a tablet to boot. The other surprise with the tx2051 is that our test model arrived with a 64-bit OS, something you definitely don’t see on the typical 4lb notebook. The downside of all these upgrades is that it put the price of our tx2000 right around the starting price of the much more desirable 2710p.

The build quality on the tx2051 is good, for a consumer-level notebook. There are no serious concerns, but the general choice of materials is what you would expect from a consumer notebook, not a business model. The notebook held up well during day-to-day use and it stayed cool during standard operation (email, internet, etc.). There was no substantial flex in the keyboard or palm rest. The hinge holding the LCD should be find for typical use and while there is some flex it worked smoothly. The notebook can only be converted into tablet mode by turning it clockwise so users have to be careful not to force it in the wrong direction.

The 12.1-inch display runs at 1280×800 and it it easy to read and is a good size for portable use. The combination of it’s glossy coating (which means a lot of glare) and a backlight that it not particularly strong (or that uses LEDs) means use outside or near a window can be problematic. Keeping that backlight at 100% will help with this, but it will limit you battery life. Overall the quality is acceptable for an entry-level tablet, but it is not as sharp, bright, or vibrant as discerning users might want.

Despite being a 12.1-inch size the tx2051 is not lacking in features. It has a full set of external connections including S-video out, VGA out, ethernet, modem, three USB slots, an expansion port (for an HP port replicator or dock), a card reader (SD, MMC, XD, Memory Stick), ExpressCard, mic/headphone/SPDIF jacks, and an optical drive. The drive is a DVD burner placed in a modular bay so it can be swapped out by pushing a small tab on the bottom. It’s not locked into place though so you have to be careful with this, but you have to push relatively hard to remove it. Other features include a pen silo, volume controls above the keyboard, and then a range of tablet controls. These appear both on the inside of the notebook (around the LCD) and the exterior of the LCD cover. The interior ones include buttons for power, rotation, Windows Mobility Center (quick access to important controls), and a launcher for the DVD player. The fingerprint reader appears to the left of the display, just above its center point. All told, it’s a nice set of controls that gives the tx2051 more versatility then we have come to expect from a notebook in it’s size class.

The tx2051’s keyboard is relatively low profile but is generously sized and is easy to use. The typing experience is quite good for a 12-inch notebook and aside from a few quirks (oddly placed Pg Up/Pg Dn buttons, very small Delete key, plastic bumpers for the LCD cover on the sides) it is one of the system’s strong points. The trackpad is very cool in that it is a grid of indented dots below the keyboard and it fits in with the color/design of the notebook. It can be disabled with a button right above it and even though it is on the small side it works well. One control that was not perfect was the main power button which uses a slider design–the return spring did not work well so it kept getting stuck towards the rightmost point, even though it should have gone back to the left after pushed. This did not affect operation, but it not the type of thing we like to see on a brand new system.

Tablet operation on the tx2051 is very good in some areas and lacking in others. The high points include the dual digitizer (active digitizer with pen and the touchscreen) so that you can poke the screen to quickly select things and you can write with the pen without having to worry about palm smudge. The active digitizer operation with the pen is very good and you can write quickly with a light touch, so it’s fine for extended operation so long as the tablet is placed on a stand, your lap, or a desktop. As for as downsides go, the HP has as few serious ones. These are going to vary depending on individual user demands, but the tx2051 is on the heavy side, it is hard to hold in tablet mode, and it does not have auto-screen orientation so you have to manually turn the display. This goes very quickly, but it would be nice to see it happen automatically.

The tx2000 is a series of computers with media aspects. It has a DVD burner and has the power to play HD video so even with that small screen it is versatile enough to watch a movie on. The display quality affects the experience, but turning the display around 180 degrees and watching video without a keyboard in front of you helps out. HP has placed four video control buttons on the top of the LCD cover to help out with this and the touch-sensitive screen means you don’t have to worry about a mouse.

From a performance standpoint the tx2051 handled itself well during testing. This may come as a surprise given that this 12-inch, system with an AMD processor and a $900 base price, but performance was quite snappy. Rather than being the typical anemic tablet, it demonstrated some serious horsepower and charged through installations with ease. It should be mentioned though that, as tested, the tx2051 came out to a bit over $1600… nearly double the base price. HD video playback was generally excellent–it was even watchable at 1080p (with the window size scaled down) though here it wasn’t quite perfect. Benchmark testing did well also, as seen in these sample scores: 3DMark01, 3533; 3DMark03, 1118; PCMark02 CPU, Memory, HDD, 7267, 8658, 1241; PCMark05, 3318; PCMark Vantage, 2340. What this all adds up to is a solid system and one of the best performing tablets available. It’s not a workstation but for what it is, it is definitely powerful enough. The discrete graphics were a bit disappointing, but they are enough general use. The important thing is that the tx2051 handles Vista well and is typically quite quick to get things done.

{ad}The tx2051 was arrived with two different batteries, the stock one and an extended model. The extended unit made the tx2051 seem rather clunky, but with the smaller battery the notebook did not last very long, so it’s a tradeoff. Using the small model with WiFi on and the backlight at 100% (I was outside) working online the battery went from 100% to 5% in an a bit over an hour and 30 minutes. The extended model, which increases the height of the notebook, will get you somewhere in the range of 4-5 hours, generally right between the two.

Ultimately the tx2051 left me with a number of mixed feelings. While it’s hard not to appreciate the starting price and the fact that this is a 12-inch tablet with an optical drive, there are a number of downsides. It’s only fair to note that most of these downsides are apparent mainly when comparing the tx2000 series to more expensive tablets, which tend to be lighter, use better materials, and often drop the optical drive. These downsides include a lackluster display, the weight (over 5lb with the extended battery), and a design that is not particularly easy to hold. Plus there is the AMD processor which does it’s job well enough, but Intel would have been the better option, unless you really needed to keep the price down. If you can deal with a few issues and a notebook that is designed for consumers and students, not serious business users, than the tx2051 (or the larger tx2000 series) could be a great pick, and an excellent value so long as you keep the price down.